Kispest

Szervusztok!

I arrived in Budapest for transfers on Wednesday and then took a little metro ride down to Kispest, where I will definitely be for the next 10 weeks, potentially for the next 18.  I LOVE DOING MISSIONARY WORK IN THE CITY. First of all, they have these public transportation passes that only cost 10000 Hungarian forint that allow you to ride any type of public transportation (trams, buses, metros, trains) for free and there are so many people to talk to, EVERYWHERE!  We are on the subway a lot these days.

We already had 6 lessons this week. Our investigators are kind of crazy. One of them threw away his Book of Mormon three times because of really random reasons. 

So when you move to a new area in Hungary, you have to go to the Hungarian equivalent of the DMV in order to update your address. On Fridays, we had to run to the DMV to update our address, because we were suppose to have it updated by three days living in the new area. 

SO the DMV closes at noon, and our tram arrived at 11:55 and we RAN to the DMV, only to arrive at 12:01 and they didn't let us in! So we went to Burger King.

I don't have a ton of time to email today, but I am super excited to serve here! I love the Book of Mormon and the gospel!

Love you all,

Martin elder

A nice view from our aparment

Between the two buildings, you can see Örökösföld, another cluster of ten-stories in the distance that we tract in a lot!

Örökösföld

Judy lives on the 9th floor

Exercise and sport park between the two rows of ten-stories

The steeples of the Lutheran church (white in front) and the Greek Orthodox church (two yellow ones in the back) as seen from Judy's apartment

Our view from the Kispest apartment!

It was SNOWING when we arrived in Budapest for transfers, which then turned into freezing rain as the day progressed.

Factories and clouds over the eastern side of Budapest.

Our view to the south of the apartment

Our new district!

From the left: Biesinger elder, 5th transfer in Hungary, my new companion, district leader, from upstate New York, lived in Hungary for 1 year before his mission. His dad also served here

Me. 3rd transfer, wearing a large, warm coat that some other elders found in a trash pile. 

Pransansaph nővér, 2nd transfer in Hungary, from Thailand, though has lived in San Francisco, Australia, China, Germany, and currently in London.  Speaks Thai, Chinese, German, English, and is now learning Hungarian

Schrad nővér, 3rd transfer in Hungary, straight out of East St. Louis (Belleville, Illinois), she was with me in the MTC and during my first transfer in Nyíregyháza, and now we're killin it in Kispest.

Thomsen elder, also a 3rd transfer in Hungary (we were also in the MTC together), from Peachtree, Georgia, likes sports

Lowe elder, a 4th transfer in Hungary, from Seattle, Washington, strangely good at Hungarian..., likes basketball, went to BYU before mission

The tram that we road on to go to the DMV

The Blue Danube (Duna)

Hills in the distance from our apartment!

We live on the 8th floor

That is the ward building, just across from our apartment. They have wards here!! with like 80 people!!